Nenad Bjelica is refusing to play down reports suggesting that he wants to become Rangers’ next manager despite losing his job at Turkish Super Lig giants Trabzonspor this week.
With his time in charge of the Black Sea outfit ending after just 16 matches – Trabzonspor winning eight but losing every other game – Nenad Bjelica is already chomping at the bit and ready to sink his teeth into a new challenge.
According to TEAMtalk, the 52-year-old Croatian has thrown his hat into the ring to take over at Ibrox. Rangers are closing in on new head coach, Philippe Clement and Kevin Muscat seemingly the leading candidates, but Bjelica’s sudden availability could give chairman John Bennett and chief executive James Bisgrove some food for thought even at this late stage.
Nenad Bjelica wants to be Rangers manager
“The mechanisms in football are such that the coach is the first to pay the price. You just have to accept that and move on. It was an honour for me to be the coach of such a club,” Bjelica tells Germanijak when asked about his sudden if not entirely-unexpected Trabzonspor exit.
“I’m sorry that it ended like this, but that’s football. From the bottom of my heart, I hope they achieve all the goals they have set for themselves.”
When pressed further on his next step – and rumours linking him with the Rangers post – Bjelica kept his cards close to his chest while admitting that he would not be looking to take any Pep Guardiola-style sabbaticals while admiring the New York skyline with Gary Kasparov
‘I am ready for new challenges’
“Will I rest? Well, I didn’t even get tired in these six months (in Turkey). I’m coming back tomorrow (to Croatia). I’m going to spend a few days with my family, so we’ll see. I am ready for new challenges,” Bjelica adds.
“I would not like to go into details (about those Rangers links). On Saturday, when the news broke that I was leaving Turkey, I had some contacts with interested clubs. They started calling, and we’ll see what happens next.”
Bjelica won two Croatian titles with Dinamo Zagreb in 2018 and 2019. Muscat and Clement also have a track record of success on the domestic stage, claiming silverware with Yokohama F Marinos, Club Brugge and Genk respectively.
